Dr Oz: Stress Leads To High Blood Pressure and Stroke

If you have ever felt so stressed your heart started to pound and you began to sweat, Dr. Oz said that is a sign you are riddled with anxiety that could lead to health problems like high blood pressure and stroke. New research has shown that multitasking could be putting you at even greater risk, but Dr. Oz has the tips and tricks you need to lower your stress and get back control of your health.

Dr. Oz’s guest, Marla Deibler, said stress increases as we experience “uns” in life, like when things are unpredictable, uncontrollable or unfamiliar. She said everyone is going to feel stress but not everyone deals with the stress in a healthy way.

Dr Oz: Marla Deibler Anxiety Scale Test

Dr. Oz went over his Anxiety Scale Test, how to read the test and what foods you can start eating to lower the stress in your life, like shrimp and edamame.

Deibler shared her Anxiety Scale Test which helps determine stress levels in people. When answering the questions below you need to consider the experiences you have had in the past two weeks and then use the number system below to correlate a numerical value.

0 Points= Not at all, 1 Point= For several days, 2 Points= More than half the days, 3 Points= Nearly every day

How often have you been feeling nervous, anxious or on edge?

How often have you not been able to stop or control your worry?

How often have you been worrying about many different things?

How often have you had trouble relaxing?

How often have you been so restless that it’s hard to sit still?

How often have you become easily annoyed or irritable?

How often have you felt afraid for no reason, as if something awful might happen?

Dr Oz: How To Read the Anxiety Scale Test

After taking the Anxiety Scale Test, use the key below to figure out how stressed you really are. Dr. Oz pointed out there are varying levels of stress which include worry, panic and distress.

0-4 Points - Marla Deibler said a 0 to 4 on the test shows that you are dealing with an average amount of stress that can be managed.

5-9 Points (Worry Category): Deibler said a person who worries a lot will usually be thinking about several different things at one time that are all on different topics. It also includes a lot of “what if” thinking. Deibler said you can get through these times of stress by telling yourself you can not control everything but you can take steps to be prepared for something bad happening.

10-14 Points (Distress Category): Deibler said people in this category not only feel stress, but they also feel the physical strain of anxiety on their body. She said these people will often feel their heart start racing and they have difficulty breathing as well.

15 or More Points (Panic Mode): Deibler said people in panic mode have such severe stress in their lives that they have challenges at work and difficulties with personal relationships. She said this is the state where people will begin to have panic attacks, brief periods of time where a person thinks they are going to die or have a heart attack.

Dr Oz: Solutions To Lower Anxiety

Dr. Mike Dow told Dr. Oz the first thing to do when trying to lower stress is change up your diet. Check out all his “booster” foods below that will help you lower your stress while increasing your GABA, something like natural Xanax, which helps you feel calm and peaceful throughout the day.

Kefir – drink 1 glass a day for a liquid Valium effect

Kimchi – eat about 1/2 cup every day to speed up your metabolism and calm your mood

Dr Oz: Lower Stress By Eating Pumpkin Seeds

Dr. Mike Dow said increasing your tryptophan can also reduce stress. He shared some of the healthiest foods you can eat to increase your tryptophan intake and boost the serotonin levels in your body. He also said he included dried seaweed on the list because it will ease anxiety while increasing the amount of magnesium and vitamin B6 in your diet.

About the author

After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in Journalism and Anthropology, I managed a pizza place for a year, while freelancing for various newspapers in the area. Working every weekend in sauna like conditions, never being able to take a day off and being covered in flour is something I will not miss. I hope Recapo has air conditioning.